fAM. 

PAClf.  I*. 


t 

HISTORICAL  SKETCH 


OF  THE 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


PROF.  S.  C.  BARTLETT,  D.D. 

AND 

REV.  C M.  HYDE,  D.D. 


BOSTON  : 

American  B<ard  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions. 


1900. 


Sketch  of  the  Hawaiian  Mission. 
1820  — 1862. 


BV  REV.  S.  C.  BARTLETT,  D.D. 


In  the  year  1809  a dark-skinned  boy  was  found  weep- 
ing on  the  doorsteps  at  Yale  College.  His  name  was 
Henry  Obookiah  (Opukahaia),  and  he  came  from  the 
Sandwich  Islands.  In  a civil  war  his  father  and  mother 
had  been  slain  before  his  eyes;  and  when  he  fled  with 
his  infant  brother  on  his  back  the  child  was  killed  with  a 
spear,  and  he  was  taken  prisoner.  Lonely  and  wretched, 
the  poor  boy  at  the  age  of  fourteen  was  glad  to  come 
with  Captain  Hrintnell  to  New  Haven.  He  thirsted  for 
instruction;  and  he  lingered  round  the  college  buildings 
hoping  in  some  way  to  gratify  his  burning  desire.  But 
when  at  length  all  hope  died  out  he  sat  down  and  wept. 
The  Rev.  Edwin  VV'.  Dwight,  a resident  graduate,  found 
him  there,  and  kindly  took  him  as  a pupil. 

In  the  autumn  of  that  year  came  another  resident 
graduate  to  New  Haven  for  the  purpose  of  awakening 
the  spirit  of  missions.  It  was  Samuel  J.  Mills.  Oboo- 
kiah told  Mills  his  simple  story  — how  the  people  of 
Hawaii  “are  very  bad;  they  pray  to  gods  made  of  wood;” 
and  he  longs  “ to  learn  to  read  this  Bible,  and  go  back 
there  and  tell  them  to  pray  to  God  up  in  heaven.”  Mills 
wrote  to  Gordon  Hall,  “ What  does  this  mean  ? Brother 
Hall,  do  you  understand  it  ? Shall  he  be  sent  back  un 


2 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


supported  to  attempt  to  reclaim  his  countrymen.’  Shall 
we  not  rather  consider  these  .Southern  islands  a proper 
place  for  the  establishment  of  amission?”  Mills  took 
Obookiah  to  his  own  home  in  Torringford,  and  thence 
to  Andover  for  a two  years’  residence  ; after  which  the 
young  man  found  his  way  to  the  grammar  school  at  Litch- 
field, and,  when  it  was  opened,  in  1817,  to  the  Foreign 
Mission  School  at  Cornwall,  Conn.  At  Litchfield  he  be- 
came acquainted  and  intimate  with  Samuel  Ruggles,  who 
about  this  time  (1816)  resolved  to  accompany  him  to  his 
native  island  with  the  gospel. 

In  the  same  vessel  which  brought  Obookiah  to 
America  came  two  other  Hawaiian  lads,  William  Ten- 
nooe  (Kanui)  and  Thomas  Hopu.  After  roving  lives  of 
many  years,  in  1815  they  were  both  converted  — Ten- 
nooe  at  New  Haven,  and  Hopu  after  he  had  removed 
from  New  Haven  to  Torringford.  Said  Hopu  after  his 
conversion,  “ I want  my  poor  countrymen  to  know  about 
Christ.”  These  young  men,  too,  had  been  the  objects  of 
much  personal  interest  in  New  Haven ; and  in  the  follow- 
ing June,  during  the  sessions  of  the  General  Association 
in  that  city,  a meeting  was  called  by  some  gentlemen  to 
discuss  the  project  of  a Foreign  Mission  .School.  An  or- 
ganization was  effected  under  the  American  Board  that 
autumn,  at  the  house  of  President  Dwight,  three  months 
before  his  death.  Next  year  the  school  opened.  Its  first 
orincipal  was  Mr.  Edwin  Dwight,  who  found  Obookiah 
in  tears  at  Yale  College,  and  among  its  first  pupils  were 
Obookiah,  Tennooe,  Hopu,  and  two  other  Hawaiian 
youths,  with  Samuel  Ruggles  and  Elisha  Loomis. 

But  Obookiah  was  never  to  carry  the  gospel  in  person 
to  his  countrymen.  God  had  a wiser  use  for  him.  In 
nine  months  from  the  opening  of  the  Mission  School 
lie  closed  a consistent  Christian  life  with  a peaceful 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


3 


Christian  death.  The  lively  interest  which  had  been 
gathering  round  him  was  profoundly  deepened  by  his 
end  and  the  memoir  of  his  life,  and  was  rapidly  crystal- 
lizing into  a mission.  Being  dead,  he  yet  spoke  with  an 
emphasis  and  an  eloquence  that  never  would  have  been 
given  him  in  his  life.  The  touching  story  drew  legacies 
from  the  dying  and  tears,  prayers,  donations,  and  conse- 
crations from  the  living.  “ O what  a wonderful  thing,”  he 
once  had  said,  “that  the  hand  of  Divine  Pro\;idence  has 
brought  me  here  from  that  heathenish  darkness.  And 
here  I have  found  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  and  have  read  that  his  blood  was  shed 
for  many.  My  poor  countrymen  who  are  yet  living  in 
the  region  and  shadow  of  death  ! I often  feel  for  them 
in  the  night  season  concerning  the  loss  of  their  souls. 
May  the  Lord  Jesus  dwell  in  my  heart,  and  prepare  me 
to  go  and  spend  the  remainder  of  my  life  with  them. 
But  not  my  will,  but  thine,  O Lord,  be  done.” 

The  will  of  the  Lord  was  done.  The  coming  to 
America  was  a more  “ wonderful  thing”  than  he  thought. 
His  mantle  fell  on  other  shoulders,  and  in  two  years 
more  a missionary  band  was  ready  for  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  Hopu,  Tennooe,  and  John  Honoree,  natives  of 
the  islands,  were  to  be  accompanied  by  Hiram  Bing- 
ham and  Asa  Thurston,  young  graduates  of  Andover; 
Dr.  Thomas  Holman,  a young  physician  ; Daniel  Cham- 
berlain, a substantial  farmer ; Samuel  Whitney,  mechanic 
and  teacher;  Samuel  Ruggles,  catechist  and  teacher;  and 
Elisha  Loomis,  printer  and  teacher.  All  the  Americans 
were  accompanied  by  their  wives,  and  Mr.  Chamberlain 
by  a family  of  five  children.  Air.  Ruggles  seems  to  have 
been  the  first  to  determine  upon  joining  the  mission,  and 
Mr.  Loomis  had  been  a memljer  of  the  Mission  School. 
With  this  company  went  also  George  Tamoree  (Kamaulii), 


4 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


who  had  been  a wanderer  in  America  for  fourteen  years, 
to  return  to  his  father,  the  subject  king  of  Kauai. 

The  ordination  of  Messrs.  Bingham  and  Thurston,  at 
Goshen,  Conn.,  drew  from  the  surrounding  region  a large 
assembly,  among  whom  were  a great  number  of  clergy- 
men and  nearly  all  the  members  of  the  Mission  School, 
now  thirty  or  more  in  number;  and  “liberal  offerings” 
for  the  mission  came  in  “from  all  quarters.”  A fortnight 
later  the  mjssionary  band  were  organized  at  Boston  into 
a church  of  seventeen  members  ; public  services  were 
held  Friday  evening  and  Saturday  forenoon,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  “crowded”  houses,  at  the  Park  Street  Church; 
and  on  the  Sabbath  six  hundred  communicants  sat  with 
them  at  the  table  of  the  Lord.  “ The  occasion,”  says 
the  PanopHst  of  that  date,  “ was  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting and  solemn  which  can  exist  in  this  world.” 
On  Saturday,  the  23d  of  October,  1819,  a Christian  as- 
sembly stood  upon  Long  Wharf  and  sang,  “ Blest  be  the 
tie  that  binds.”  There  was  a prayer  by  Dr.  Worcester, 
a farewell  speech  by  Hopu,  a song  by  the  missionaries, 
“ When  shall  we  all  meet  again ; ” and  a fourteen-oared 
barge  swiftly  conveyed  the  little  band  from  their  weeping 
friends  to  the  brig  “ Thaddeus,”  which  was  to  carry  the 
destiny  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

While  the  missionaries  are  on  their  way  let  us  take 
a look  at  the  people  whom  they  were  going  to  reclaim. 
The  ten  islands  of  the  Hawaiian  group  — an  area  some- 
what less  than  Massachusetts  — were  peopled  by  a well- 
formed,  muscular  race,  with  olive  complexions  and  open 
countenances,  in  the  lowest  stages  of  barbarism,  sensu- 
ality, and  vice.  The  children  went  stark  naked  till  they 
were  nine  or  ten  years  old  ; and  the  men  and  women  wore 
the  scantiest  apology  for  clothing,  which  neither  sex  hesi- 
tated to  leave  in  the  hut  at  home  before  they  passed 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


5 


through  the  village  to  the  surf.  The  king  came  more 
than  cnce  from  the  surf  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Ruggles 
with  his  five  wives,  all  in  a state  of  nudity;  and  on  be- 
ing informed  of  the  impropriety,  he  came  the  next  time 
dressed  — with  a pair  of  silk  stockings  and  a hat!  The 
natives  had  hardly  more  modesty  or  shame  than  so  many 
animals.  Husbands  had  many  wives,  and  wives  many 
husbands,  and  exchanged  with  each  other  at  pleasure. 
The  most  revolting  forms  of  vice,  as  Captain  Cook  had 
occasion  to  know,  were  practiced  in  open  sight.  When 
a foreign  vessel  came  to  the  harbor  the  women  would 
swim  to  it  in  flocks  for  the  vilest  of  purposes.  Two 
thirds  of  all  the  children,  probably,  were  destroyed  in 
infancy  — strangled  or  buried  alive. 

The  nation  practiced  human  sacrifice ; and  there  is  a 
cord  now  at  the  Missionary  Rooms,  Chicago,  with  which 
one  high  priest  had  strangled  twenty-three  human  vic- 
tims. They  were  a race  of  perpetual  thieves;  even  kings 
and  chiefs  kept  servants  for  the  special  purpose  of  steal- 
ing. They  were  wholesale  gamblers,  and  latterly  drunk- 
ards. Thoroughly  savage,  they  seemed  almost  destitute 
of  fixed  habits.  When  food  was  plenty  they  would  take 
six  or  seven  meals  a day,  and  even  rise  in  the  night  to 
eat;  at  other  times  they  would  eat  but  once  a day,  or 
perhaps  go  almost  fasting  for  two  or  three  days  together^ 
And  for  purposes  of  sleep  the  day  and  the  night  were 
much  alike.  Science  they  had  none  ; no  written  lan- 
guage, nor  the  least  conception  of  any  mode  of  commu- 
nicating thought  but  by  oral  speech. 

A race  that  destroyed  their  own  children  had  little 
tender  mercy.  Sons  often  buried  their  aged  parents 
alive,  or  left  them  to  perish.  The  sick  were  abandoned 
to  die  of  want  and  neglect.  Maniacs  were  stoned  to 
death.  Captives  were  tortured  and  slain.  The  whole 


6 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


system  of  government  and  religion  was  to  the  last  de- 
gree oppressive.  The  lands,  their  products  and  occu- 
pants, were  the  property  of  the  chiefs  and  the  king. 
The  persons  and  power  of  the  high  chiefs  were  pro- 
tected by  a crushing  system  of  restrictions  called  tabus. 
It  was  tabu  and  death  for  a common  man  to  let  his 
shadow  fall  upon  a chief,  to  go  upon  his  house,  enter 
his  enclosure  or  wear  his  kapa,  to  stand  when  the  king’s 
kapa  or  his  bathing  water  was  carried  by  or  his  name 
mentioned  in  song.  In  these  and  a multitude  of  other 
ways  “men’s  heads  lay  at  the  feet  of  the  king  and  the 
chiefs.”  In  like  manner  it  was  tabu  for  a woman  to 
eat  with  her  husband,  or  to  eat  fowl,  pork,  cocoanut,  or 
banana  — things  offered  to  the  idols  — and  death  was  the 
penalty.  The  priest,  too,  came  in  with  his  tabus  and  his 
exactions  for  his  idols.  There  were  six  principal  gods 
with  names,  and  an  indefinite  number  of  spirits.  What- 
soever the  priest  demanded  for  the  god  — food,  a liouse, 
land,  human  sacrifice  — must  be  forthcoming.  If  he  pro- 
nounced a day  tabu  the  man  who  was  found  in  a canoe, 
or  even  enjoying  the  company  of  his  family,  died.  If  any- 
one made  a noise  when  prayers  were  saying,  or  if  the 
priest  pronounced  him  irreligious,  he  died.  When  a tem- 
ple was  built,  and  the  people  had  finished  the  toil,  some 
of  them  were  offered  in  sacrifice.  In  all  these  modes 
the  oppression  of  the  nation  was  enormous. 

The  race  had  once  been  singularly-  healthy.  They- 
told  the  first  missionaries  — an  exaggeration,  of  course  — 
that  formerly  they  died  only  of  old  age.  But  foreign  sail- 
ors had  introduced  diseases,  reputable,  and  especially 
disreputable  ; and  now,  between  the  desolations  of  war, 
infanticide,  and  infamous  diseases  widely  spread  by  gen- 
eral licentiousness,  the  nation  was  rapidly  wasting  away. 

Such  was  the  forbidding  race  on  whom  the  mission- 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


7 


aries  were  to  try  the  power  of  the  cross.  “ Probably 
none  of  you  will  live  to  witness  the  downfall  of  idolatry,” 
so  said  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kellogg  to  Mr.  Ruggles  as  they 
took  breakfast  together  at  East  Windsor  the  morning 
before  he  left  home ; and  so  thought,  no  doubt,  the 
whole  community.  But  God’s  thoughts  are  not  as  our 
thoughts. 

Hopu  called  up  his  friend  Ruggles  at  one  o’clock  on 
a moonlight  night  (March  31)  to  get  the  first  glimpse  of 
Hawaii,  and  at  daybreak  the  snosv-capped  peak  of  Mauna 
Kea  was  in  full  view.  A few  hours  more,  and  Hopu 
pointed  out  the  valley  where  he  was  born.  A boat  is 
put  off,  with  Hopu  and  others  in  it,  which  encounters 
some  fishermen  and  returns.  As  the  boat  nears  the 
vessel  Hopu  is  seen  swinging  his  hat  in  the  air;  and  as 
soon  as  he  arrives  within  hail  he  shouts,  “ Oahu’s  idols 
are  no  more  !”  On  coming  aboard  he  brings  the  thrill- 
ing news  that  the  old  king  Kamehameha  is  dead;  that 
Liholiho,  his  son,  succeeds  him;  that  the  images  of  the 
gods  are  all  burned  ; that  the  men  are  all  “ Inoahs  ” — 
they  eat  with  the  women  ; that  but  one  chief  was  killed 
in  settling  the  government,  and  he  for  refusing  to  destroy 
his  gods.  Ne.\t  day  the  message  was  confirmed.  Kame- 
hameha, a remarkable  man,  had  passed  away.  On  his 
death-bed  he  asked  an  American  trader  to  tell  him  about 
the  Americans’  God ; but,  said  the  native  informant,  in 
his  broken  English,  “ He  no  tell  him  anything.”  All  the 
remaining  intelligence  was  also  true.  The  missionaries 
wrote  in  their  journal,  “ Sing,  O heavens,  for  the  Lord 
hath  done  it  I ” The  brig  soon  anchored  in  Kailua  Bay, 
the  king’s  residence;  and  a fourteen  days’  consultation 
between  the  king  and  chiefs  followed.  Certain  foreign- 
ers opposed  their  landing;  “they  had  come  to  conquer 
the  islands.”  “Then,”  said  the  chiefs,  “they  would  not 


8 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


have  brought  their  women.”  The  decision  was  favor- 
able. Messrs.  Bingham,  Loomis,  Chamberlain,  and  Hon- 
oree  go  to  Oahu  ; and  Messrs.  Ruggles  and  Whitney 
accompany  the  young  Tamoree  to  his  father,  the  sub- 
ject king  of  Kauai.  The  meeting  of  father  and  son 
was  deeply  affecting.  The  old  king,  for  his  son’s  sake, 
adopted  Mr.  Ruggles  also  as  his  son,  and  gave  him  a 
tract  of  land,  with  the  power  of  a chief.  He  prepared 
him  a house,  soon  built  a schoolhouse  and  chapel,  and 
followed  him  with  acts  of  friendship  which  were  of  great 
benefit  to  the  mission  while  the  king  lived  and  after  his 
death.  He  himself  became  a hopeful  convert,  and  in 
1824  died  in  the  faith. 

And  now  the  missionaries  settled  down  to  their  work. 
They  had  found  a nation  sunk  in  ignorance,  sensuality, 
and  vice,  and  nominally  without  a religion,  though 
really  still  in  the  grasp  of  many  of  their  old  supersti- 
tions. The  old  religion  had  been  discarded  chiefly  on 
account  of  its  burdensomeness.  We  cannot  here  re- 
count all  the  agencies,  outer  and  inner,  which  brought 
about  this  remarkable  convulsion.  But  no  religious  mo- 
tives seem  to  have  had  any  special  power.  Indeed,  King 
Liholiho  was  intoxicated  when  he  dealt  to  the  system  its 
finishing  stroke  by  compelling  his  wives  to  eat  pork. 
And  by  a providence  as  remarkable  as  inscrutable  the 
high  priest  threw  his  whole  weight  into  the  scale.  Into 
this  opening  thus  signally  furnished  by  the  hand  of 
God  the  missionaries  entered  with  wonder  and  grati- 
tude. The  natives  educated  in  America  proved  less 
serviceable  than  was  expected.  Tennooe  was  soon  ex- 
communicated, although  in  later  years  he  recovered 
and  lived  and  died  a well-reputed  Christian.  Hopu  and 
Honoree,  while  they  continued  faithful,  had  partly  lost 
their  native  tongue,  lacked  the  highest  skill  as  interpret- 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


9 


ers,  and  naturally  failed  in  judgment.  Hopu,  at  the 
opening  of  the  first  revival,  was  found  busy  in  arranging 
the  inquirers  on  his  right  hand  and  his  left  hand,  respec- 
tively, as  they  answered  yes  or  no  to  the  single  question, 
“ Do  you  love  your  enemies  ? ” and  was  greatly  disturbed 
at  being  interrupted. 

The  king  and  the  chiefs,  with  their  families,  were  the 
first  pupils.  They  insisted  on  the  privilege.  Within 
three  months  the  king  could  read  the  English  language, 
and  in  six  months  several  chiefs  could  both  read  and 
write.  The  missionaries  devoted  themselves  vigorously 
to  the  work  of  reducing  the  native  speech  to  writing; 
and  in  less  than  two  years  the  first  sheet  of  a native 
spelling-book  was  printed  — followed  by  the  second, 
however,  only  after  the  lapse  of  six  months.  From  time 
to  time  several  accessions  of  laborers  were  received 
from  -America  and  various  changes  of  location  took 
place.  The  first  baptized  native  was  Keopuolani,  the 
mother  of  the  king;  and  others  of  the  high  chiefs  were 
among  the  earlier  converts.  The  leading  personages, 
for  the  most  part,  showed  much  readiness  to  adopt  the 
suggestions  of  the  missionaries.  In  1824  the  principal 
chiefs  formally  agreed  to  recognize  the  Sabbath  and  to 
adopt  the  Ten  Commandments  as  the  basis  of  govern- 
ment. They  also  soon  passed  a law  forbidding  females 
to  visit  the  ships  for  immoral  purposes. 

The  gravest  obstacles  encountered  came  from  vile 
captains  and  crews  of  English  and  American  vessels. 
They  became  ferocious  towards  the  influences  and  the 
men  that  checked  their  lusts.  The  British  whale-ships 
“Daniel”  and  “John  Palmer,”  and  the  American  armed 
schooner  “ Dolphin,”  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Percival, 
were  prominent  in  open  outrage.  The  house  of  mission- 
ary Richards  was  twice  assailed  by  the  ruffians  of  the 


lO 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


ship  “ Daniel,”  encouraged  by  their  captain.  On  one  oc- 
casion they  came  and  demanded  Ids  influence  to  repeal 
the  law  against  prostitution.  On  his  refusal  they,  in  the 
presence  of  his  feeble  wife,  threatened,  with  horrid  oaths, 
to  destroy  his  property,  his  house,  his  life,  and  tlie  lives 
of  all  his  family.  Two  days  after,  forty  men  returned 
with  a black  flag  and  armed  with  knives,  repeating  the 
demand.  The  chiefs  at  length  called  out  a company  of 
two  hundred  men  armed  with  muskets  and  spears,  and 
drove  them  off.  The  crew  of  the  “ Dolphin,”  with  knives 
and  clubs,  on  the  Sabbath  assailed  a small  religious  as- 
sembly of  chiefs  gathered  at  the  house  of  one  of  their 
number  who  was  sick.  Mr.  Bingham,  who  was  also 
present,  fell  into  their  hands  on  his  way  to  protect  his 
house,  and  barely  escaped  with  his  life  from  the  blow  of 
a club  and  the  thrust  of  a knife,  being  rescued  by  the 
natives.  A mob  of  English  and  American  whalemen,  in 
October,  1826,  started  for  the  house  of  Mr.  Richards 
at  Lahaina  with  the  intention  of  taking  his  life.  Not 
finding  him,  they  pillaged  the  town;  while  all  the  native 
women  from  a population  of  4,000  fled  from  their  lust 
for  refuge  in  the  mountains.  A year  later  the  family  of 
Mr.  Richards  took  refuge  in  the  cellar  from  the  cannon- 
balls of  the  “John  Palmer,”  which  passed  over  the  roof  of 
the  house.  When  printed  copies  of  the  Ten  Command- 
ments were  about  to  be  issued  this  class  of  men  carried 
their  opposition,  with  threats,  before  the  king.  At  Hono- 
lulu, while  the  matter  was  pending,  Mr.  Ruggles  was 
approached  by  an  American  captain,  bearing  the  satirical 
name  of  Meek,  who  flourished  his  dagger  and  angrily 
declared  himself  ready  “to  bathe  his  hands  in  the  heart’s 
blood  of  every  missionary  who  had  anything  to  do  with 
it.”  At  one  time  twenty-one  sailors  came  up  the  hill 
with  clubs,  threatening  to  kill  the  missionaries  unless 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


1 1 

they  were  furnished  with  women.  The  natives  gather- 
ing for  worship  immediately  thronged  round  the  house 
so  thick  that  they  were  intimidated,  and  sneaked  away. 
At  another  time  fourteen  of  them  surrounded  him  with 
the  same  demand,  but  were  frightened  off  by  the  reso- 
lute bearing  of  the  noble  chief  Kapiolani— a majestic 
woman  six  feet  high  — who,  arriving  at  the  instant, 
swung  her  umbrella  over  her  head,  with  the  crisp  words, 
“ Be  off  in  a moment,  or  I will  have  every  one  of  you 
in  irons.”  She  was  the  same  Christian  heroine  who,  in 
1824,  broke  the  terrible  spell  which  hung  over  the  vol- 
cano Kilauea  by  venturing  down  into  the  crater,  in  defi- 
ance of  the  goddess  Pele,  hurling  stones  into  the  boiling 
lake,  and  worshiping  Jehovah  on  its  black  ledge. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  why  a certain  class  of  cap- 
tains and  sailors  have  always  pronounced  the  Sandwich 
Islands  Mission  a wretched  failure. 

The  missionaries  labored  on  undaunted.  Eight  years 
from  their  landing  found  them  at  work,  some  thirty-two 
in  number,  with  440  native  teachers,  12,000  Sabbath 
hearers,  and  26,000  pupils  in  their  schools.  At  this 
time  about  fifty  natives,  including  Kaahumanu,  the 
Queen  Regent,  and  many  of  the  principal  chiefs,  were 
members  of  the  church.  And  now,  in  the  year  1828,  the 
dews  of  heaven  began  to  fall  visibly  upon  the  mission. 
For  two  or  three  years  the  way  had  been  preparing. 
Kaahumanu,  converted  in  1825,  and  several  other  high 
chiefs  had  thrown  themselves  vigorously  and  heartily 
into  the  work.  “They  made  repeated  tours  around  all 
the  principal  islands,”  says  Mr.  Dibble,  “assembling  the 
people  from  village  to  village  and  delivering  addresses 
day  after  day  in  which  they  prohibited  immoral  acts, 
enjoined  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  encouraged  the 
people  to  learn  to  read,  and  exhorted  them  to  turn  to 


12 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


God  and  to  love  and  obey  the  Saviour  of  sinners.” 
“The  effect  was  electrical  — pervading  at  once  every 
island  of  the  group,  every  obscure  village  and  district, 
and  operating  with  immense  power  on  all  grades  and 
conditions  of  society.  The  chiefs  gave  orders  to  the 
people  to  erect  houses  of  worship,  to  build  schoolhouses, 
and  to  learn  to  read  — they  readily  did  so;  to  listen  to 
the  instructions  of  the  missionaries  — they  at  once  came 
in  crowds  for  that  purpose.”  About  this  time,  too  (May, 
1825),  the  remains  of  King  Liholiho  and  his  wife  were 
brought  back  from  their  unfortunate  expedition  to  Eng- 
land, where  they  died  from  the  measles.  Their  attend- 
ing chiefs  filled  the  ears  of  the  people  with  what  they 
saw  in  England;  and  Lord  Byron,  commander  of  the 
British  frigate  which  brought  the  remains,  gave  an 
honorable  testimony  to  the  missionaries. 

These  various  influences  caused  a great  rush  to  hear 
the  Word  of  God.  The  people  would  come  regularly 
fifty  or  sixty  miles,  traveling  the  whole  of  Saturday,  to 
attend  Sabbath  worship ; and  would  gather  in  little  com- 
panies from  every  point  of  the  compass,  like  the  tribes 
as  they  went  up  to  Jerusalem.  Meanwhile  the  printed 
Word  was  circulated  throughout  the  villages. 

At  length  the  early  fruits  appeared.  In  the  year  1828 
a gracious  work  began,  simultaneously  and  without  com- 
munication, in  the  islands  of  Hawaii,  Oahu,  and  Maui. 
It  came  unexpectedly.  The  transactions  at  Kaavaroa 
(Hawaii)  well  illustrate  the  work.  Mr.  Ruggles  was  away 
from  home,  with  Mr.  Bishop,  on  an  excursion  to  visit  the 
schools  of  the  island.  They  had  been  wrecked  and  had 
swum  ashore.  Two  natives  who  were  sent  home  for 
shoes  and  clothing  brought  a message  from  Mrs.  Rug- 
gles to  her  husband  requesting  his  immediate  return, 
for  “strange  things  were  happening  — the  natives  were 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


13 


coming  in  companies  inquiring  what  they  should  do  to 
be  saved.”  He  hastened  back,  and  found  the  house  sur- 
rounded from  morning  till  night  and  almost  from  night 
till  morning.  A company  of  ten  or  twenty  would  be  re- 
ceived into  the  house,  and  another  company  would  wait 
their  turn  at  the  gate.  So  it  went  on  for  weeks,  and 
even  months,  and  the  missionaries  could  get  no  rest  or 
refreshment  e.\cept  as  they  called  in  Kapiolani  and 
others  of  the  converted  chiefs  to  relieve  them.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Ruggles  had  the  names  of  2,500  inquirers  on  their 
books.  With  multitudes  it  was,  no  doubt,  but  sympa- 
thy or  fashion  ; but  there  were  also  a large  number  of 
real  inquirers  and  many  hopeful  conversions.  All  the 
converts  were  kept  in  training  classes  a year  before  they 
were  admitted  to  the  church,  and  then  only  on  the  strict- 
est examination.  During  the  two  following  years  350  per- 
sons were  received  to  communion  at  the  several  stations. 
For  a time  the  work  seemed  to  lull  again.  But  in  1836 
the  whole  aspect  of  the  field  was  so  inviting  that  the 
Board  sent  out  a strong  missionary  reenforcement  of 
thirty-two  persons,  male  and  female. 

.•\t  this  time  and  for  the  following  year  the  hearts  of 
the  missionaries  were  singularly  drawn  out  in  desires 
and  prayers  for  the  conversion  not  only  of  the  Islands, 
but  of  America  and  of  the  world.  .And  scarcely  had  the 
new  laborers  been  assigned  to  their  places  and  learned 
the  language  when  (in  1838)  there  began,  and  continued 
for  six  years,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  awakenings 
that  the  world  has  ever  witnessed.  All  hearts  seemed 
tender.  Whenever  the  Word  was  preached,  conviction 
and  conversions  followed.  The  churches  roused  up  to 
self-examination  and  prayer;  the  stupid  listened;  the 
vile  and  groveling  learned  to  feel ; the  congregations  be- 
came immense  and  sometimes  left  their  churches  for 


14 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


the  open  air,  and  the  prayer-meetings  left  the  lecture-room 
for  the  body  of  tlie  church.  There  were  congregations 
of  four,  five,  and  six  tliousand  persons.  The  mission- 
aries preached  from  seven  to  twenty  times  a week  and 
the  sense  of  guilt  in  the  hearers  often  broke  forth  in 
groans  and  loud  cries.  Probably  many  indiscretions 
were  committed  and  there  were  many  spurious  conver- 
sions. But,  after  all  allowances,  time  showed  that  a 
wonderful  work  was  wrought.  During  the  six  years 
from  1838  to  1843  inclusive,  twenty-seven  thousand 
persons  were  admitted  to  the  churches.  In  some  in- 
stances the.  crowds  to  be  baptized  on  a given  Sabbath 
required  extraordinary  modes  of  baptism  ; and  Mr.  Coan 
is  said  to  have  sprinkled  water  with  a brush  upon  the 
candidates. 

The  next  twenty  years  added  more  than  20,000  other 
members  to  the  churches,  making  the  whole  number 
received  up  to  1863  some  50,000  souls.  Many  of  these 
had  then  been  excommunicated  — in  some  instances,  it 
was  thought,  too  hastily  ; many  thousands  had  gone  home 
to  heaven;  and  in  1863  some  20,000  still  survived  in 
connection  with  the  churches. 

At  length  came  the  time  when  the  islands  were  to  be 
recognized  as  nominally  a Christian  nation,  and  the  re- 
sponsibility of  their  Christian  institutions  was  to  be  rolled 
off  upon  themselves.  In  June,  1863,  Dr.  Anderson, 
Senior  Secretary  of  the  American  Board,  met  with  the 
Hawaiian  Evangelical  Association  to  discuss  this  impor- 
tant measure.  After  twenty-one  days  of  debate  the 
result  was  reached  with  perfect  unanimity,  and  the  Asso- 
ciation agreed  to  assume  the  responsibility  which  had 
been  proposed  to  them.  This  measure  was  consumma- 
ted by  the  Board  in  the  autumn  following,  and  those 
stations  no  longer  looked  to  the  American  churches  for 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


15 


management  and  control.  “ The  mission  has  been,  as 
such,  disbanded  and  merged  in  the  community.” 

On  the  15th  of  January,  1864,  at  Queen’s  Hospital, 
Honolulu,  died  William  Kanui  (Tennooe),  aged  sixty-six 
years,  the  last  of  the  native  youth  who  gave  rise  to  the 
mission  and  accompanied  the  first  missionaries.  He 
had  wandered,  had  been  excommunicated,  and  was  re- 
stored ; and  after  many  years  of  faithful  service  he  died 
in  the  triumph  of  faith.  In  his  last  sickness  he  used 
“to  recount  the  wonderful  ways”  in  which  God  had  led 
him.  “ The  names  of  Cornelius,  Mills,  Beecher,  Daggett, 
Prentice,  Griffin,  and  others  were  often  on  his  lips;” 
and  he  went,  no  doubt,  to  join  them  all  above.  God  had 
spared  his  life  to  see  the  whole  miraculous  change  that 
had  lifted  his  nation  from  the  depths  of  degradation  to 
civilization  and  Christianity.  Could  the  spirit  of  Henry 
Obookiah  have  stood  in  Honolulu  soon  after  the  funeral 
of  Kanui  he  would  have  hardly  recognized  his  native 
island  except  by  its  great  natural  landmarks.  He  would 
have  seen  the  city  of  Honolulu,  once  a place  of  grass 
huts  and  filthy  lanes,  now  marked  by  substantial  houses 
and  sidewalks  and  a general  air  of  civilization  ; a race 
of  once  naked  savages  decently  attired  and  living,  some 
of  them,  in  comparative  refinement;  a nation  of  readers, 
whom  he  left  without  an  alphabet ; Christian  marriage 
firmly  established  in  place  of  almost  promiscuous  concu- 
binage; property  in  the  interior  exposed  with  absolute 
security  for  an  indefinite  time  where  formerly  noth- 
ing was  safe  for  an  hour;  the  islands  dotted  with  a 
hundred  capacious  church  edifices  built  by  native  hands, 
some  of  them  made  of  stone,  most  of  them  with  bells; 
a noble  array  of  several  hundred  common  schools,  two 
female  seminaries,  a normal  school  for  natives,  a high 
school  that  furnished  the  first  scholar  to  one  of  the 


i6 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


classes  in  Williams  College ; a theological  seminary  and 
twenty-nine  native  preachers,  besides  eighteen  male  and 
female  missionaries  sent  to  the  Marquesas  Islands;  some 
twenty  thousand  living  church  members;  a government 
with  a settled  constitution,  a legislature,  and  courts  of 
justice,  and  avowing  the  Christian  religion  to  be  “the 
established  national  religion  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands.” 

These  facts  exhibit  the  bright  and  marvelous  aspect 
of  the  case.  But,  of  course,  they  have  their  drawbacks. 
The  Sandwich  Islands  are  not  paradise,  nor  even  Amer- 
ica. The  stage  of  civilization  is,  as  it  must  be,  far  below 
that  of  our  own  country.  The  old  habits  still  shade 
into  the  new.  Peculiar  temptations  to  intemperance  and 
licentiousness  come  down  by  inheritance.  Foreign  in- 
terventions and  oppositions  have  been  and  still  are  grave 
hindrances.  Church  members  but  fifty  years  removed 
from  a state  of  brutalism  cannot  and  do  not  show  the 
stability,  intelligence,  and  culture  of  those  who  inherit 
the  Christian  influences  of  a thousand  years. 

But  the  amazing  transformation  of  the  islands  is  a 
fact  that  depends  not  alone  on  the  estimates  of  the  mis- 
sionaries or  of  the  Board  that  employed  them.  The 
most  generous  testimonies  have  come  from  other  sources. 
The  Rev.  F.  S.  Rising,  of  the  American  Church  Mission- 
ary Society,  explored  the  islands  in  1866  for  the  express 
purpose  of  testing  the  question.  He  visited  nearly  every 
mission  station,  examined  the  institutions  — religious, 
educational,  social  — made  the  personal  acquaintance  of 
the  missionaries  of  all  creeds,  and  conversed  with  per- 
sons of  every  profession  and  social  grade.  And  he 
writes  to  the  Secretary  of  the  American  Board : “ The 
deeper  I pushed  my  investigations  the  stronger  became 
my  conviction  that  what  had  been  on  your  part  necessa- 
rily an  experimental  work  in  modern  missions  had. 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


17 


under  God,  proved  an  eminent  success.  Every  sunrise 
brought  me  new  reasons  for  admiring  the  power  of 
divine  grace,  which  can  lift  the  poor  out  of  the  dust  and 
set  him  among  princes.  Every  sunsetting  gave  me 
fresh  cause  to  bless  the  Lord  for  that  infinite  love  which 
enable.s  us  to  bring  to  our  fellow  men  such  rich  bless- 
ings as  your  missionaries  have  bestowed  on  the  Ha- 
waiian Islands.  To  me  it  seemed  marvelous  that  in 
comparatively  so  few  years  the  social,  political,  and 
religious  life  of  the  nation  should  have  undergone  so 
radical  and  blessed  a change  as  it  had.  Looking  at  the 
kingdom  of  Hawaii  nei  as  it  today  has  its  recognized 
place  among  the  world’s  sovereignties,  I cannot  but  see 
in  it  one  of  the  brightest  trophies  of  the  power  of  the 
cross.”  “What  of  Hawaiian  Christianity?  I would  apply 
to  it  the  same  test  by  which  we  measure  the  Christianity 
of  our  own  and  other  lands.  There  are  certain  outward 
signs  which  indicate  that  it  has  a high  place  in  the  national 
respect,  conscience,  and  affection.  Possessing  these  vis- 
ible marks,  we  declare  of  any  country  that  it  is  Chris- 
tian. The  Hawaiian  kingdom,  for  this  reason,  is  properly 
and  truly  called  so.  The  constitution  recognizes  the 
Christian  faith  as  the  religion  of  the  nation.  The  Bible 
is  found  in  almost  every  hut.  Prayer  — social,  family, 
and  individual  — is  a popular  habit.  The  Lord’s  day  is 
more  sacredly  observed  than  in  New  York.  Churches 
of  stone  or  brick  dot  the  valleys  and  crown  the  hilltops, 
and  have  been  built  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of 
the  natives.  There  the  Word  is  preached  and  the  sac- 
raments administered.  Sunday  schools  abound.  The 
contributions  of  the  people  for  religious  uses  are  very 
generous,  and  there  is  a native  ministry,  growing  in 
numbers  and  influence,  girded  for  carrying  on  the  work 
so  well  begun.  The  past  history  of  the  Hawaiian  mis- 


i8 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


sion  abounds  with  bright  examples  [of  individual  right- 
eousness], like  Kaahumanu  and  Kapiolani,  and  some 
were  pointed  out  to  me  as  I went  to  and  fro.  They 
were  at  one  time  notoriously  wicked.  Their  lives  are 
manifestly  changed.  They  are  striving  to  be  holy  in 
their  hearts  and  lives.  They  are  fond  of  the  Bible,  of 
the  sanctuary  and  prayer.  Their  theology  may  be  crude, 
but  their  faith  in  Christ  is  simple  and  tenacious.  And 
when  we  see  some  such  in  every  congregation  we  know 
that  the  work  has  not  been  altogether  in  vain.”  In  i860 
Richard  H.  Dana,  Esq.,  a distinguished  Boston  lawyer, 
of  the  Episcopal  Church,  gave  a similar  testimony  in 
the  New  York  Tribune,  during  his  visit  to  the  islands. 
Among  other  things,  he  mentions  that  “the  proportion 
of  inhabitants  who  can  read  and  write  is  greater  than  in 
New  England;  ” that  they  may  be  seen  “going  to  school 
and  public  worship  with  more  regularity  than  the  people 
at  home  ; ” that,  after  attending  the  examination  of  Oahu 
College,  he  “ advised  the  young  men  to  remain  there  to 
the  end  of  their  course  [then  extending  only  to  the 
Junior  year],  as  they  could  not  pass  the  Freshman  and 
Sophomore  years  more  profitably  elsewhere,  in  my  judg- 
ment; ” that  “in  no  place  in  the  w'orld  that  I have 
visited  are  the  rules  which  control  vice  and  regulate 
amusement  so  strict,  yet  so  reasonable,  and  so  fairly 
enforced;”  that  “in  the  interior  it  is  well  known  that 
a man  may  travel  alone  with  money  through  the  wildest 
spots  unarmed  ; ” and  that  he  “ found  no  hut  without 
its  Bible  and  hymn  book  in  the  native  tongue;  and  the 
practice  of  family  prayer  and  grace  before  meat,  though 
it  be  no  more  than  a calabash  of  poi  and  a few  dried 
fish,  and  whether  at  home  or  on  a journey,  is  as  common 
as  in  New  England  a century  ago.” 

There  is  one  sad  aspect  about  this  interesting  people. 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


19 


The  population  has  been  steadily  declining  since  they 
were  first  discovered.  Cook,  in  1773,  estimated  the 
number  of  inhabitants  at  400,000.  This  estimate,  long 
thought  to  be  exaggerated,  is  now  supposed  to  be  not 
far  from  the  truth.  But  in  1823  wars,  infanticide,  for- 
eign lust,  imported  drinks,  and  disease  had  reduced 
them  to  the  estimated  number  of  142,000;  and  in  1830, 
to  the  ascertained  number  of  130,000.  In  the  lapse  of 
a few  years  after  the  first  visits  of  foreign  vessels  half 
the  population  are  said  to  have  been  swept  away  with 
diseases  induced  or  heightened  by  their  unholy  inter- 
course. The  mission  has  done  what  could  be  done  to 
save  the  nation  ; but  the  wide  taint  of  infamous  disease 
was  descending  down  the  national  life  before  the  mis- 
sionaries reached  the  islands ; and  the  flood-gates  of 
intemperance  were  wide  open.  They  have  retarded  the 
nation’s  decline  ; but  foreign  influences  have  always  inter- 
fered— and  now,  perhaps,  more  than  ever.  The  sale  of 
ardent  spirits  was  once  checked,  but  is  now  free.  The 
present  monarch  stands  aloof  from  tlie  policy  of  some 
of  his  predecessors  and  from  the  influence  of  our  mis- 
sionaries. And  the  population,  reduced  to  62,000  in 
1866,  seems  to  be  steadily  declining.  The  Pacific  Corn- 
tnercial  Advertiser,  \s\\\<^\  furnishes  the  facts,  finds  the 
chief  cause  in  the  fearful  prevalence  still  of  vice  and 
crime,  which  are  said  to  have  been  increasing  of  late; 
and  the  reason  for  this  increase  is  “political  degrada- 
tion ” and  the  readiness  with  which  the  people  now 
obtain  intoxicating  drinks.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  “ in  the  height  of  tlie  whaling  season  the  number  of 
transient  seamen  in  tlie  port  of  Honolulu  equals  lialf 
the  population  of  the  town;”  and  the  influences  they 
bring  breathe  largely  of  hell.  Commercial  forces  and 
movements,  meanwhile,  are  changing  the  islands.  The 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


lands  are  already  passing  into  the  hands  of  foreign  cap- 
italists and  the  islands  are  falling  into  the  thoroughfare 
of  the  nations. 

The  proper  sequel,  therefore,  of  this  grand  mission- 
ary triumph  may  be  taken  away  ; and  the  race  itself,  as 
a nation,  may  possibly  cease  to  be.  But  in  no  event  can 
the  value  or  the  glory  of  the  work  achieved  be  destroyed. 
Not  only  will  thousands  on  thousands  of  human  souls 
thereby  have  been  brought  into  the  kingdom  by  the 
labor  of  a hundred  missionaries  and  the  expenditure  of 
perhaps  a million  of  dollars  from  America;  but  a grand 
experiment  will  have  been  tried  before  the  world,  and  an 
imperishable  memorial  erected  for  all  time  of  what  the 
remedial  power  of  the  gospel  can  accomplish  in  an  in- 
credibly short  time  upon  a most  imbruted  race.  “ Fifty 
years  ago,"’  says  Dr.  A.  P.  Peabody,  “the  half-reasoning 
elephant  or  the  tractable  and  troth-keeping  dog  might 
have  seemed  the  peer  or  more  of  the  unreasoning  and 
conscienceless  Hawaiian.  From  that  very  race,  from 
that  very  generation  with  which  the  nobler  brutes  might 
have  scorned  to  claim  kindred,  have  been  developed  the 
peers  of  saints  and  angels.”  And  all  the  more  glorious 
is  the  movement  that  the  nation  was  sunk  so  low  and 
was  so  rapidly  wasting  away.  “ If  the  gospel,”  says  Dr. 
Anderson,  “took  the  people  at  the  lowest  point  of  social 
existence  — at  death’s  door,  when  beyond  the  reach  of 
all  human  remedies,  with  the  causes  of  decline  and  de- 
struction all  in  their  most  vigorous  operation  — and  has 
made  them  a Christian  people,  checked  the  tide  of  depop- 
ulation, and  raised  the  nation  so  in  the  scale  of  social 
life  as  to  have  gained  for  it  an  acknowledged  place 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  what  more  wonderful 
illustration  can  there  be  of  its  remedial  power  ? ” 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


21 


The  history  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  will  stand  for- 
ever as  the  vindication  to  the  caviler  of  the  worth  of 
Christian  missions,  and  as  a demonstration  to  the  Chris- 
tian of  what  they  might  be  expected  to  accomplish  in 
other  lands  if  prosecuted  with  a vigor  at  all  propor- 
tioned to  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  field  and  crowned 
with  the  blessing  of  God. 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


23 


PROGRESS  OF  CHRISTIAN  WORK 

Ir|  the  Ha.waiia.ri  Islands 
FOR  THE  LAST  THIRTY  YEARS 
1863-1893. 


BV 

REV.  C.  M.  HYDE,  D.D. 


When  Rev.  Dr.  Anderson,  .Secretary  of  the  Ameri- 
can Board  of  Commissioners  for  I’oreign  Missions,  visited 
the  Hawaiian  Islands,  in  1863,  it  was  with  the  intention 
of  transferring  the  responsibility  for  the  further  develop- 
ment and  management  of  Christian  work  from  the  Board 
to  the  Christian  community  of  the  islands.  It  was  in 
the  judgment  of  many  at  that  time  not  merely  a hazard- 
ous step  to  take,  but  a measure  involving  sure  destruc- 
tion to  many  interests  and  enterprises.  Yet  at  the  time 
circumstances  were  such  as  to  make  the  plan  an  abso- 
lute necessity,  no  matter  what  risks  were  involved.  The 
record  of  thirty  years’  work  at  the  islands  since  the 
American  Board  withdrew  from  the  active  control  and 
administration  of  that  work  will  show  how  much  grati- 
tude we  owe  to  God  for  the  measure  of  success  vouch- 
safed to  us,  wonderful  in  its  magnitude,  thanks  to  His 
gracious  providence.  Not  all  hindrances  to  the  spread 
of  the  gospel  have  been  overcome,  not  all  the  progress 


24 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


realized  that  has  been  desired,  and  much  of  the  failure 
and  disappointment  must  be  attributed  to  the  lingering 
blindness  and  indolence  of  the  professed  disciples  of 
Christ,  who  have  been  slow  to  recognize  providential 
opportunities  for  greater  efficiency,  and  not  fully  alive  to 
the  greatness  of  their  privileges  as  coworkers  with  God 
in  the  regeneration  of  society  as  well  as  the  salvation  of 
individuals. 

In  the  reorganization  of  Christian  work  at  the  islands 
under  Dr.  Anderson,  the  Sandwich  Islands  Mission,  as 
such,  was  formally  discontinued.  Its  work  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Hawaiian  Evangelical  Association,  organized 
June  3,  1863.  By  the  constitution  of  the  new  organiza- 
tion it  was  to  consist  of  all  the  ordained  clergymen, 
whether  Congregational  or  Presbyterian,  native  or  for- 
eign, in  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  the  Marquesas  Islands, 
or  the  Islands  of  Micronesia,  together  with  such  lay- 
men as  might  be  elected  from  time  to  time,  and  also 
lay  delegates  appointed  annually  by  the  various  island 
associations.  This  Association  holds  an  annual  meet- 
ing in  Honolulu  during  the  first  week  in  June,  which 
takes  the  place  of  the  former  General  Meeting  of  the 
American  Mission.  Before  this  Association  statistical 
reports  of  the  churches  are  read,  also  narratives  of  the 
state  of  religion  from  the  different  island  associations, 
and  a general  report  of  the  progress  of  Christian  work 
in  its  various  departments  prepared  by  the  Correspond- 
ing Secretary  of  the  Hawaiian  Board. 

This  Board  of  the  Hawaiian  Evangelical  Association 
is  a chartered  corporation.  It  consists  of  not  less  than 
eighteen  members.  These  are  elected  in  different  classes, 
each  to  serve  three  years.  One  third  of  the  members 
must  be  Hawaiians.  In  this  way  the  problem  of  cooper- 
ation has  been  solved,  so  as  to  put  native  Christians  on 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


25 


perfect  equality  with  other  members  of  the  Board.  But 
as  the  annual  receipts  of  the  Board  amount  to  more 
than  $20,000,  of  which  less  than  $3,000  are  now  contrib- 
uted by  the  Hawaiian  churches,  the  control  of  the  dis- 
bursement of  the  funds  cannot  be  perverted  from  its 
proper  lines  of  administration  by  the  votes  of  those  who 
contribute  only  a moiety  of  the  funds. 

Various  standing  committees  have  charge  of  the 
various  departments  of  the  work  — home  work,  foreign 
work,  education,  publication,  finance  — and  the  work  of 
the  Board  is  carried  on  by  acting  upon  the  recommenda- 
tions made  by  the  various  committees  at  the  regular 
monthly  meetings.  No  ecclesiastical  authority  is  claimed 
or  exercised  by  the  Board  or  by  the  Evangelical  Asso- 
ciation. The  internal  affairs  of  the  individual  churches 
are  managed  by  the  churches  themselves,  acting  under 
the  control  of  the  various  island  associations,  in  con- 
formity with  the  principles  and  rules  of  procedure  as 
published  in  the  church  manual.  This  secures  a uni- 
form mode  of  administration,  and  unites  the  churches  as 
members  of  one  local  organic  body. 

The  report  of  the  Hawaiian  Evangelical  Association  for 
1892  gives  statistics  of  fifty-seven  Hawaiian  churches  — 
twenty-two  on  Hawaii,  eighteen  on  Maui  (including  those 
on  Molokai  also),  ten  on  Oahu,  seven  on  Kauai.  These 
report  a total  membership  of  5,427,  out  of  a total  popula- 
tion, native  and  half-castes,  amounting  together  to  40,622, 
as  reported  by  the  census  taken  December  28,  1890. 
For  these  fifty-seven  churches  there  are  forty  pastors, 
seven  of  these  serving  also  other  parishes  than  those  in 
which  they  reside,  leaving  ten  churches  without  any  pas- 
toral care  except  a quarterly  visit  from  a special  com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  island  association. 

The  classified  statement  of  receipts  and  expenditures 


26 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


of  the  Hawaiian  Board  as  shown  in  the  report 
is  as  follows : 

RECEIPTS 


Special  Contributiotis. 


For  Japanese 

$461.30 

Portuguese 

1,689.25 

Chinese 

2,142.65 

Queen  Emma  Hall  . . . 

500.00 

General  Contributions. 

From  Hawaiians 

$2,678.86 

Individuals 

4,835-75 

Central  Union  Church 

1,450.00 

United  .States  . . . . 

173-87 

Micronesia 

435-19 

Other  Sources. 

Publications 

$1,817.85 

Rentals  and  dividends  . . 

1,116.35 

Special  funds  .... 

4,467.14 

Grants  from  A.  B.  C.  F.  M., 

4,900.00 

Balance  from  last  year 

Taken  from  general  fund  . . . . 

EXPENDITURES. 

For  Japanese 

Portuguese 

Chinese 

Queen  Emma  Hall 

Home  Missions 

Foreign  Missions 

Publications 

N.  P.  M.  Institute 

General  Expenses 

Permanent  Fund 


for  1892 


$4,793.20 


$9,573-67 


$12,301.34 

2,562.10 

1.432.58 

$30,662.89 

$1,819-35 

7,088.68 

5,013-45 

776.26 

1.720.58 

3.970.30 

2.371-77 

2,925.00 

4,477-50 

500.00 

$30,662.89 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


27 


The  Board  has  received  large  donations  of  landed 
property  and  of  special  funds,  amounting  now  to  over 
$40,000,  of  which  only  the  annual  income  is  available  for 
the  uses  of  the  Board. 

In  1853  a Marquesan  chief  arrived  in  Honolulu. 
A Hawaiian  sailor  had  found  his  way  to  the  Marquesas 
Islands,  and  had  there  married  this  chief’s  daughter. 
The  Hawaiian’s  superior  attainments  had  so  impressed 
the  chief  that  he  took  passage  on  a vessel  bound  for  the 
Sandwich  Islands  in  order  to  secure  missionary  teachers. 
Hawaiian  Christians  were  so  interested  in  this  mission, 
that  two  Hawaiian  pastors  and  their  wives  volunteered  to 
take  up  this  missionary  work.  Two  teachers  and  their 
wives  also  agreed  to  go,  and  June  16,  1863,  tliey  left 
Honolulu,  accompanied  by  Rev.  B.  W.  Parker  to  assist 
in  establishing  the  mission.  Mr.  Parker  had  at  one  cime 
been  engaged  in  missionary  work  in  those  islands.  He 
returned  to  Honolulu,  November  i,  to  report  the  suc- 
cessful establishment  of  the  mission.  Other  mission- 
aries and  teachers  from  time  to  time  have  joined  the 
mission,  which  has  been  supported  entirely  by  the  Ha- 
waiian churches.  Death  and  removal  have  made  many 
changes;  but  the  two  Hawaiian  preachers  who  began  the 
mission  are  still  doing  faithful  and  effective  work  for 
that  people,  once  ferocious  cannibals,  but  since  1852 
under  a French  protectorate.  The  islands  are  now  gov- 
erned by  resident  French  officials,  who  are  friendly  to  the 
work  of  the  Hawaiian  missionaries.  They  have  a church 
membership  of  about  200,  and  two  boarding-schools,  one 
for  boys  and  one  for  girls,  with  over  100  pupils. 

As  the  Micronesian  Mission  has  developed  from  time 
to  time,  Hawaiian  teachers  and  preachers  have  been  sent 
by  the  Hawaiian  Board  both  to  the  Marshall  Islands  and 
to  the  Gilbert  Islands.  No  Hawaiian  missionaries  are 


28 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


now  at  work  in  the  Marshall  Islands,  but  in  the  Gilbert 
or  Kingsinill  group  there  are  now  nine  Hawaiian  mis- 
sionaries and  their  wives.  Three  of  these  were  sent 
from  Honolulu  June  i8,  1892,  selected  from  students  of 
the  N.  P.  M.  Institute,  who,  in  response  to  an  urgent  call 
from  the  old  missionaries  in  that  field  for  new  reenforce- 
ments, had  every  one  volunteered  to  go,  their  wives  also 
joining  with  them  in  this  dedication  of  the  whole  body 
of  students  to  the  work  of  Christ  in  the  foreign  field 

The  importance  of  establishing  self-supporting 
churches  under  the  management  of  a native  ministry 
was  recognized  from  the  first  by  the  members  of  the 
American  Mission.  Tlie  effort  to  realize  this  desirable 
evidence  of  gospel  progress  and  its  self-perpetuating 
power  reached  the  stage  of  actual  inception  just  thirty 
years  after  the  establishment  of  the  mission.  In  1849, 
Rev.  James  Hunnewell  Kekela,  the  first  native  pastor, 
was  ordained.  He  is  now  living,  one  of  the  two  Ha- 
waiian missionaries  in  the  Marquesas  Islands.  At  first, 
those  who  had  been  active  and  successful  school-teach- 
ers and  deacons  were  selected  and  ordained  to  the 
office  of  the  gospel  ministry.  But  it  was  felt  that  some 
special  training  for  the  duties  of  the  ministerial  office 
was  needed.  Different  pastors  on  different  islands 
formed  classes  of  theological  students.  A Theological 
Department  had  been  established  in  Lahainaluna  Semi- 
nary in  1843,  but  the  early  death  of  the  special  in- 
structor put  a speedy  end  to  any  further  effort  in  that 
direction  in  connection  with  that  school,  whose  special 
province  was  to  train  and  furnish  school-teachers. 

In  1863  Rev.  W.  D.  Alexander,  while  pastor  at 
Wailuku,  opened  a Theological  School,  inviting  pupils 
from  all  the  islands.  In  six  years  he  had  taught  sixty- 
two  different  pupils,  just  one  half  of  whom  had  entered 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


29 


the  ministry.  But  Mr.  Alexander’s  departure  for  the 
United  States,  in  1870,  broke  up  the  school.  In  1873 
the  premises  formerly  occupied  by  the  United  States 
Marine  Hospital  in  Honolulu  were  purchased  by  the 
Hawaiian  Board  and  fitted  up  for  occupancy  as  a theo- 
logical seminary.  Three  of  the  older  missionaries  then 
residing  in  Honolulu  were  constituted  the  faculty  of 
the  seminary.  But  removals,  infirmities,  deaths,  soon 
necessitated  a reorganization.  In  1877  the  American 
Board  resumed  work  in  the  islands  so  far  as  to  send 
Rev.  C.  M.  Hyde,  D.D.,  from  Haverhill,  Mass.,  to  take 
charge  of  this  training  school,  renaming  it  the  North 
Pacific  Missionary  Institute.  The  .American  Board  paj’S 
the  salary  of  the  instructor,  but  the  Hawaiian  Board 
pays  all  other  expenses.  Of  the  present  pastorate, 
numbering  forty,  twenty-eight  are  graduates  of  the  Insti- 
tute ; six  others  have  gone  out  as  foreign  missionaries  to 
the  Gilbert  Islands.  In  1890  new  buildings  were  erected 
costing  $10,000,  nearly  all  contributed  by  a few  gen- 
erous donors  at  the  islands.  The  Prudential  Committee 
has  recently  voted  to  send  out  an  assistant  instructor, 
assuming  the  additional  expense,  and  active  effort  is 
being  made  to  find  the  associate  so  urgently  needed  for 
the  further  prosecution  of  this  important  work.  A per- 
manent fund  of  at  least  $10,000  is  also  needed,  the 
income  to  be  applied  to  the  support  of  the  students 
under  the  proposed  reorganization  of  the  work  of  the 
Institute. 

A class  of  new  students  will  probably  enter  ready 
to  study  English  text-books  and  to  recite  in  the  English 
language.  Such  an  arrangement  has  been  impracticable 
until  now.  Only  since  1877  has  English  been  made  the 
language  of  the  public  schools.  Young  men  of  twenty 
years  of  age  who  have  had  their  previous  training  in 


30 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


the  public  schools  and  in  the  boys’  boarding-schools, 
are  now  ready  to  seek  further  preparation  for  their  life- 
work,  witli  advantages  available  only  to  those  wlio  know 
the  English  language  sufficiently  to  use  it  in  ordinary 
conversation. 

In  1843  the  public  schools  ceased  to  be  under  the 
care  of  the  American  missionaries.  The  government, 
organized  in  1840  as  a constitutional  monarchy,  then 
assumed  the  whole  burden  of  the  support  of  the  schools 
under  the  supervision  of  a minister  of  public  instruc- 
tion. The  public  school  system  is  now  under  the  charge 
of  the  Board  of  Education,  which  is  a bureau  in  the 
Department  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior.  In  1892 
there  were  127  government  schools,  41  independent 
schools,  having  a total  of  10,712  pupils,  in  a total  popu- 
lation of  89,990.  The  course  of  study  is  such  as  would 
be  found  in  grammar  schools  in  the  United  States;  but 
the  scholars  do  not  as  yet,  in  the  nature  of  the  case, 
reach  the  full  possibilities  of  the  course  of  study.  La- 
hainaluna  Seminary,  which  was  established  by  the  Amer- 
ican Board  in  1831  as  a high  and  normal  school,  was 
transferred  to  the  government  in  1849.  The  boys’  board- 
ing-schools, opened  by  the  mission  as  early  as  1836,  have 
all  ceased  to  be,  with  the  single  exception  of  that  at 
Hilo,  which  was  put  by  the  American  Board  in  1863  in 
charge  of  a board  of  trustees.  They  have  now  invested 
funds  amounting  to  j?40,ooo,  besides  a valuable  school 
property,  buildings,  lands,  and  equipment  valued  at 
$20,000. 

Industrial  training  has  always  been  a prominent 
feature  in  the  mission  boarding-schools.  Following  the 
line  of  development  of  the  educational  work  of  the  mis- 
sion, the  late  Hon.  Mrs.  C.  R.  Bishop,  the  last  survivor 
of  the  Kamehameha  family,  left  in  1884  a landed  estate. 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


31 


valued  at  over  5450,000,  for  the  establishment  and  main- 
tenance of  two  schools,  one  for  boys,  one  for  girls.  The 
Kamehameha  Manual  Training  School  for  boys  occupies 
buildings  whose  beauty  and  fitness  it  would  be  hard  to 
find  excelled  in  the  United  States.  It  is  located  in  one 
of  the  suburbs  of  Honolulu,  in  one  of  the  loveliest  of 
many  such  scenes  of  natural  beauty  in  the  “ Paradise  of 
the  Pacific.”  There  is  a corps  of  12  teachers,  with  188 
pupils. 

A girls’  boarding-school  will  be  opened  by  the  trus- 
tees of  the  B.  P.  Bishop  estate  in  1894.  The  first  girls’ 
boarding-school  opened  under  the  auspices  of  the  Amer- 
ican Board  was  the  seminary  at  Wailuku,  Maui,  in  1837. 
There  are  now  in  successful  operation  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  Hawaiian  Board,  the  East  Maui  P'emale 
•Seminary,  with  96  pupils;  Kohala,  with  55;  and  Kawaia- 
hao,  with  132  — a total  of  283  girls  in  course  of  training 
to  make  useful  wives  and  mothers  and  build  up  Chris- 
tian homes  all  over  the  group.  These  all  need  liberal 
endowments  for  their  enlargement  and  maintenance. 
They  receive  aid  from  the  Board  of  Education  in  the 
form  of  “ capitation  fees  ” for  all  scholars  of  certain  ages, 
proportioned  to  the  length  of  their  connection  with  the 
school.  But  as  this  aid  is  conditioned  upon  charging 
only  550  per  annum  for  each  pupil,  the  expenses  would 
largely  outrun  the  receipts  were  it  not  for  the  help  an- 
nually received  from  liberal  benefactors.  This  last  year 
all  the  mission  schools  have  received  generous  donations 
to  their  permanent  funds  from  one  of  the  old  residents, 
one  of  the  most  wisely  liberal  givers  whom  any  commu- 
nity may  be  proud  to  count  among  its  numbers. 

A missionary  physician  was  sent  to  the  islands  with 
the  first  band  of  pioneer  missionaries  in  1819,  and  four 
others  have  been  sent  at  different  times.  Dr.  C.  H. 


32 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


Wetmore  was  the  last  physician  sent  out  by  the  Board. 
He  was  located  at  Hilo  in  1848,  but  withdrew  from  the 
service  of  the  Board  in  1870.  He  still  continues  to  re- 
side in  Hilo  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  an  honored 
citizen  as  well  as  a beloved  physician,  whose  name  is 
always  spoken  with  reverent  affection  in  every  home  in 
that  community.  Contagious  diseases  brought  in  from 
foreign  ports  have  been  very  destructive  among  the  Ha- 
waiians,  ignorant  as  they  are  of  the  very  first  rudiments 
of  sanitary  science.  In  1848  the  measles  spread  all 
over  the  group,  and  it  is  calculated  that  one  tenth  of  the 
people  died  of  that  disease.  In  1853  there  was  an  out- 
break of  smallpox,  3,546  cases  reported.  It  appeared 
again  in  Honolulu  in  1881,  but  was  confined  strictly 
within  the  limits  of  that  one  city,  yet  there  were  789 
cases  reported.  The  enforcement  of  the  quarantine 
regulations  and  the  care  of  the  sick  cost  the  community, 
directly  and  indirectly,  nearly  $300,000. 

But  of  all  diseases  leprosy  has  been  the  most  serious 
to  contend  against,  owing  largely  to  loose  habits  of  liv- 
ing among  Hawaiians  and  their  utter  indifference  to  the 
risks  of  exposure.  Hereditary  weaknesses  account  for 
the  spread  of  this  dread  disease  almost  exclusively 
among  Hiyvaiians.  For  their  own  protection  the  for- 
eign residents  have  insisted  upon  segregation.  Under 
government  authority,  since  1865,  about  5,000  have  been 
sent  to  an  isolated  district  of  the  island  of  Molokai. 
They  have  been  supported  by  the  government  at  an  ex- 
pense of  over  $1,000,000.  Churches  have  been  built 
for  them  and  pastors  supported  by  the  Hawaiian  Board. 
The  generosity  of  the  Protestant  community  in  addition 
to  all  this  has  been  shown  by  the  establishment  of 
homes  for  leper  children,  separate  buildings  for  boys  and 
for  girls.  These  the  government  has  placed  in  charge 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


33 


of  some  devoted  and  trained  members  of  a Catholic 
sisterhood.  It  is  believed  that  the  disease  has  passed  its 
worst  stages  both  in  virulence  and  in  contagiousness. 
Under  skillful  medication  and  wise  sanitation  those 
afflicted  with  it  are  thankful  for  such  ceaseless  pains- 
taking to  alleviate  the  disease  and  ameliorate  their 
condition. 

Roman  Catholicism  was  introduced  into  the  islands 
as  early  as  1827,  but  made  comparatively  little  headway 
until  1848.  The  well-known  methods  of  papal  aggres- 
siveness and  domination  are  as  successful  at  the  islands 
as  elsewhere,  but  not  more  so.  Under  the  predominat- 
ing influence  of  an  evangelical  Christianity,  Roman  Ca- 
tholicism takes  on  a modified  form  and  is  not  unwilling 
to  imitate  some  of  the  methods  which  make  gospel  in- 
stitutions such  a power  in  transforming  and  uplifting 
our  fallen  humanity.  The  hold  which  any  form  of  faith 
or  worship  has  upon  the  volatile  Hawaiian  is  not  suffi- 
ciently strong  to  keep  many  of  them  from  passing  easily 
from  Protestantism  to  Catholicism,  or  vice  versa.  There 
are,  of  course,  also,  many  firm  in  their  convictions  of 
truth  and  duty  who  never  can  be  convinced  that  the  only 
way  of  salvation  was  built  through  Rome.  The  census 
of  1884  reported  29,685  Protestants,  9,377  Portuguese, 
and  10,995  other  Catholics. 

The  Anglican  Church,  or  Reformed  Catholic  as  is  its 
chosen  designation  at  the  islands,  was  introduced  by 
Bishop  Staley,  as  head  of  the  Church  of  England  Mis- 
sion, in  1862;  but  its  success  has  not  been  great.  Aside 
from  half  of  a cathedral  in  Honolulu,  a boarding-school 
in  Kona,  and  chapels  at  Kohala  and  Lahaina,  mainly 
for  English  residents  at  those  places,  there  are  no 
marked  indications  of  past  or  future  successful  growth. 

In  1856  the  first  Mormons  made  their  appearance  in 


34 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


Honolulu  en  route  to  San  Francisco.  They  proposed 
to  the  government  to  establish  a mission  here,  pledging 
themselves  not  to  teach  polygamy  and  always  to  support 
the  royal  party  candidates.  According  to  their  manual, 
they  now  number  over  3,000  men,  women,  and  children, 
of  whom  two  thirds  are  church  officials.  They  use  our 
Bibles  and  hymns  in  their  religious  services,  though  they 
make  more  of  feasting  and  promises  of  good  things  as 
means  to  win  adherents. 

The  Reciprocity  Treaty,  ratified  August  15,  1876,  by 
which  Hawaiian  sugar  and  rice  were  imported  into  the 
United  States  free  of  Custom  House  duties,  led  to  a 
rapid  development  of  the  industries  of  the  islands.  In 
1876  only  26,072,429  pounds  of  sugar  were  exported, 
while  in  1890  this  export  amounted  to  259,798,462 
pounds.  In  1876  the  export  of  rice  was  2,259,324 
pounds;  in  1890  it  was  10,579,000  pounds.  This  great 
increase  of  production  was  brought  about  by  the  build- 
ing up  of  large  plantations  by  the  aid  of  foreign  capital. 
There  are  about  65  plantations,  with  an  investment  of 
$35,000,000,  of  which  the  American  capital  may  be  reck- 
oned at  $25,000,000,  cultivating  over  64,000  acres  of 
land,  with  nearly  20,000  laborers.  The  value  of  all  the 
imports  into  the  islands  in  1876  was  $1,811,770;  in  1890 
the  value  was  $6,962,201.  In  1876  the  total  value  of 
the  exports  was  $2,241,041  ; in  1890  these  amounted  to 
$13,282,729 — -an  average  of  $147  for  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  in  the  country. 

This  large  army  of  laborers,  and  3,500  more  for  the 
40  rice  plantations,  cultivating  7,420  acres,  has  largely 
been  recruited  from  abroad  — the  South  Seas,  Portugal, 
China,  Japan.  The  first  importation  of  Chinese  coolies 
was  in  1852.  The  census  of  1890  reported  a Chinese 
population  of  15,301.  Evangelistic  work  was  begun 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


35 


among  them  in  1868  when  there  were  only  1,317  Chinese 
residents.  In  1878  a Chinese  church  was  organized  in 
Honolulu  with  39  members.  A church  edifice  was 
erected  at  a cost  of  $12,000,  one  half  of  this  contributed 
by  the  Chinese  themselves.  This  has  recently  been 
enlarged  by  the  addition  of  an  annex,  30  x 60  feet,  ac- 
commodating the  organ  purchased  from  the  Central 
Union  Church  when  their  old  house  of  worship  was 
torn  down.  There  is  a lower  story  accommodating  three 
departments  of  the  mission  day  school.  The  whole 
cost  of  this  addition  has  been  about  $4,000,  of  which  the 
Chinese  have  paid  nearly  one  half,  the  storekeepers, 
not  Christians,  appreciating  keenly  the  advantages  for 
education  and  elevation  thus  afforded  to  them.  Mr.  F. 
W.  Damon  has  been  since  1881  the  faithful  and  efficient 
superintendent  of  the  Chinese  Mission  under  the  gen- 
eral supervision  of  the  Hawaiian  Board.  In  this  work 
the  American  Board  has  cooperated  by  a grant  in  aid 
of  $1,000  towards  Mr.  Damon's  salary.  Evangelists 
have  been  employed  to  labor  among  the  Chinese  on  the 
other  islands.  There  is  a mission  school  at  Wailuku, 
a school  and  a regular  church  organization  at  Kohala. 
The  church  in  Honolulu  now  numbers  105  members. 
The  mission  day  school  has  on  its  register  195  pu- 
pils. Not  the  least  interesting  department  of  this  work 
is  the  free  kindergarten  for  children  under  the  legal 
school  age. 

The  first  Japanese  laborers  were  brought  to  the 
islands  in  1885,  and  immediately  upon  their  arrival 
active  evangelistic  work  was  begun  among  them.  There 
are  now  nearly  20,000  Japanese  resident  at  the  islands. 
One  of  the  most  interesting  events  in  the  recent  history 
of  Christian  work  was  the  organization  of  a Japanese 
church  in  1888,  at  which  time  the  Japanese  consul. 


36 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


M.  Taro  Ando,  and  every  member  of  the  Japanese  consu- 
late made  a public  profession  of  faith  and  entered  into 
church  fellowship.  The  work  among  the  Japanese  in 
Honolulu  has  not  progressed  as  it  might  have  done. 
The  California  M.  E.  Conference  undertook  to  cooper- 
ate with  the  Hawaiian  Board  in  evangelistic  work  for 
the  Japanese,  but  difficulties  of  administration  at  such 
a distance  from  headquarters  were  too  great,  and  the 
work  on  their  part  was  abandoned.  Rev.  Jiro  Okabe, 
stationed  by  the  Hawaiian  Board  at  Hilo,  has  organized 
a church  for  that  district  numbering  ii6  members. 
They  have  built  their  own  house  of  worship,  and  main- 
tain an  active  evangelistic  work  among  their  country- 
men along  the  eastern  coast  of  Hawaii. 

The  Hawaiian  Board  was  unable  to  do  much  for  the 
evangelization  of  the  Portuguese  until  1890.  A Sabbath 
school  was  organized  by  Mrs.  Whitney,  and  Mr.  B.  F. 
Dillingham  has  been  its  superintendent.  But  through 
the  generous  donation  of  Mr.  P.  C.  Jones,  the  Hawaiian 
Board  was  enabled,  in  1890,  to  begin  missionary  work 
among  them  involving  an  outlay  of  over  $7,000.  De- 
cember 28,  1890,  a Portuguese  chapel  was  dedicated  in 
Honolulu  in  connection  with  a day  school,  which  now 
has  on  its  register  96  pupils.  June  12,  1892,  a Portu- 
guese church  was  organized,  of  which  Rev.  A.  V.  Soares  is 
the  pastor,  having  a membership  of  39.  Recently  a free 
kindergarten  for  Portuguese  children  has  been  opened 
in  a new  building  erected  for  the  purpose  on  the  mis- 
sion premises  at  a cost  of  over  $600,  the  cost  being 
paid  entirely  by  Mrs.  M.  E.  Rice.  January  17,  1892,  a 
Portuguese  church  at  Hilo  was  dedicated  which  cost 
$3,200.  Rev.  R.  K.  Baptist  is  the  pastor.  The  church 
was  organized  at  the  same  time  with  a membership  of  91. 

The  establishment  of  free  kindergartens  is  one  of 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


37 


the  many  departments  of  Christian  work  under  the  fos- 
tering care  of  the  Woman’s  Board  of  Missions  for  the 
Pacific  Islands.  The  membership  of  this  society  is 
composed  almost  wholly  of  ladies  connected  with  the 
Central  Union  Church  of  Honolulu.  They  have  an  aver- 
age attendance  of  nearly  sixty  at  their  monthly  meet- 
ings, which  are  full  of  interest  from  reports  of  what  they 
themselves  are  doing  in  various  lines  of  missionary 
work  among  the  various  nationalities  that  make  up  the 
heterogeneous  population  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  as 
well  as  reports  from  their  own  missionaries  in  the 
islands  2,500  miles  and  more  to  the  south.  The  annual 
receipts  and  expenditures  amount  to  about  5 1,600. 

Few  churches  can  show  a larger  amount  and  variety 
of  Christian  activities  than  is  exhibited  in  the  annual 
reports  of  the  Central  Union  Church.  In  December, 
1892,  it  entered  its  new  house  of  worship,  built  of  lava 
rock  at  a cost  of  $130,000,  furnished  with  electric  lights, 
a fine  organ,  all  the  modern  conveniences,  with  an  an- 
nex giving  ample  space  for  lecture-room,  Sunday-school 
rooms,  ladies’  parlor  with  kitchen  attachment.  The  cur- 
rent expenses  are  over  $6,000;  the  monthly  collections 
for  benevolence,  over  $4,000  ; the  Sunday-school  collec- 
tions, over  $700.  Besides  all  this  it  is  the  individual 
members  of  this  church  and  congregation  who  have  sup- 
ported at  home  and  abroad  the  Christian  work  which, 
in  the  providence  of  God,  this  community  has  been 
called  upon  to  assume. 

Mention  should  be  made  in  this  connection  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  which  in  1883  dedicated  a building  erected 
specially  for  its  use,  which  cost  $19,000  and  stands 
directly  opposite  the  building  of  the  Honolulu  Library 
and  Reading  Room  Association,  which  cost  about  $i  5,000 
and  has  a library  of  10,000  volumes.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A. 


38 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


has  a membership  of  200,  and  through  its  various  com- 
mittees— Devotional,  Educational,  Entertainment,  Wel- 
come, Employment,  Visitation  — does  a large  amount  of 
effective  Christian  work  for  the  benefit  of  many  others 
than  those  for  whose  special  benefit  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  was 
organized.  A new  sailors’  home,  under  the  management 
of  a board  of  trustees,  is  now  being  built  at  a cost  of 
$15,000.  The  Queen’s  Hospital,  a quasi-public  institu- 
tion, as  well  as  the  Lunalilo  Home  for  aged  and  indi- 
gent Hawaiians,  may  properly  be  mentioned  as  part  of 
the  results  of  Christian  work  inaugurated  at  the  islands 
by  those  who,  in  trying  to  do  the  work  of  the  Master, 
“builded  better  than  they  knew,”  and  must  rejoice  with 
all  Christ’s  redeemed  in  the  transformation  which  in  less 
than  threescore  years  and  ten  has  been  wrought  in  the 
life  and  surroundings  of  the  Hawaiian  people. 

Efforts  have  been  made  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Hawaiian  Board  for  the  support  of  churclies  among  for- 
eign residents  on  the  other  islands,  but  many  of  the 
attempts  have  proved  abortive  because  the  numbers  are 
so  few,  the  homes  so  far  distant  from  one  another,  and 
these  residents  not  at  alt  permanent.  Yet  the  Kohala 
Church  maintains  regular  religious  worship  with  only 
II  members.  The  Hilo  Foreign  Church  has  a member- 
ship of  103;  and  Makawao,  56.  The  congregations  are 
about  twice  the  membership,  and  are  all  provided  with 
attractive  church  buildings. 

The  Hawaiians  have  not  been  backward  in  this  mat- 
ter of  church  buildings.  Kaumakapili  Church,  that  wor- 
shiped in  i88i  in  an  old  dingy  and  dirty  adobe  build- 
ing, with  a roof  of  monstrously  disproportionate  size,  has 
now  a commodious,  one  might  almost  say  elegant,  brick 
edifice,  with  a large  basement  Sunday-school  room,  elec- 
troliers brilliant  with  glass  pendants  and  reflectors,  and 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


39 


an  organ  built  in  London.  It  was  erected  by  persistent 
effort  for  ten  years,  little  by  little,  at  a total  cost  of 
S6o,ooo.  The  old  stone  church  known  as  Kawaiahao, 
begun  by  Rev.  H.  Bingham  in  1840,  has  recently  been 
repaired  and  modernized.  Its  ample  audience  room  in 
these  recent  years  has  been  the  scene  of  many  of  the 
■State  funerals,  mournful  pageants  for  one  and  another 
of  the  Hawaiian  chiefs  who  have  passed  away  forever 
from  the  pomps  and  vanities,  vexations  and  disappoint- 
ments of  earth.  Instead  of  the  thousands  that  once 
thronged  the  house  of  worship,  four  or  five  hundred 
would  be  called  a crowded  house,  and  1 50  to  250  the  ordi- 
nary Sabbath  congregation.  During  the  years  1878-1884 
the  Hawaiians  spent  $74,786.85  for  churches  and  par- 
sonages. It  was  an  era  in  this  line  of  work  only  paral- 
leled by  the  period  1860-1870,  when  the  many  churches 
were  built  that  now  dot  the  coast  of  Hawaii  with 
their  heaven-pointing  steeples.  At  both  these  periods 
money  poured  in  upon  the  people.  Much  of  it  was  fool- 
ishly spent,  but  some  of  it  found  permanent  investment 
in  the  sanctuaries  of  worship  which  indicate  and  develop 
the  vigor  of  religious  life. 

The  population  of  the  islands,  which  was  73,138  in 
1853,  was  89,990  according  to  the  census  of  1890.  But 
this  increase  was  due  to  the  importation  of  laborers  for 
the  sugar  plantations,  which  came  into  existence  under 
the  favoring  conditions  of  the  Reciprocity  Treaty  of  1876. 
Of  these  immigrants  there  are  now  9,000  Portuguese, 
15,000  Chinese,  and  20,000  Japanese.  These  outnumber 
the  native  population,  which  has  decreased  to  34,000. 
This  decrease  is  attributable  chiefly  to  the  physical 
deterioration  and  accompanying  demoralization  of  the 
Hawaiians,  because  of  the  removal  of  the  old  restrictions 
on  the  sale  of  alcoholic  liquors.  The  evils  which  have 


40 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


resulted  indirectly  from  the  spread  of  drunkenness  are 
as  appalling  and  lamentable  as  its  direct  results  in  dis- 
ease, poverty,  degeneration. 

In  1839  the  first  edition  of  the  Hawaiian  Bible,  10,000 
copies,  was  published,  twenty  years  after  the  first  mis- 
sionaries left  their  homes  to  dwell  among  a savage  peo- 
ple, learn  their  language,  commit  it  to  writing,  put  it  in 
printed  form,  and  teach  a nation  to  read  for  themselves 
the  Word  of  God.  A second  edition  of  10,000  was 
published  in  1843.  These  were  in  quarto  and  octavo 
forms,  and  various  editions  have  been  circulated,  printed 
from  the  original  stereotype  plates.  Not  till  1889,  fifty 
years  after  the  first  edition  was  printed,  was  the  Bible 
printed  in  smaller  size,  eighteenmo,  suitable  to  be  easily 
carried  and  handled.  For  these  editions  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  for  those  of  the  New  Testament,  one  of  the 
New  Testament  and  Psalms  bound  together,  one  with 
the  Hawaiian  and  English  versions  in  parallel  columns, 
the  Hawaiian  people  is  under  everlasting  obligation  to 
the  American  Bible  Society,  at  whose  expense  or  from 
whose  presses  all  these  various  editions  and  numbers 
of  the  .Scriptures  have  been  furnished. 

Nor  must  the  aid  rendered  by  the  American  Tract 
Society  be  forgotten,  in  furnishing  a religious  literature 
for  the  Hawaiian  people.  From  the  very  origin  of  the 
mission,  tracts  and  other  religious  publications  have 
been  furnished  in  editions  of  10  000  at  a time.  The 
most  important  publications  of  late  years  have  been  a 
Manual  of  Church  History,  a Commetitary  on  Matthew, 
and  an  Illustrated  Bible  Dictionary.  This  last,  through 
the  liberality  of  the  Tract  Society,  is  now  sold  at  only 
fifty  cents  a volume.  With  its  graphic  explanations  and 
descriptions  of  Bible  customs  and  localities,  it  makes  the 
Bible  a new  book,  as  one  of  the  Hawaiian  pastors  says. 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


41 


In  this  connection  mention  should  be  made  of  the 
Hawaiian  hymn  book,  also  printed  by  the  American 
Tract  Society,  of  which  large  numbers  are  sold  every 
year.  The  Hawaiians  are  passionately  fond  of  singing, 
and  have  developed  a style  of  their  own  which  is 
very  attractive  even  to  those  whose  tastes  have  been 
cultivated  in  the  scientific  and  artistic  methods  of 
Europe  and  America.  To  meet  the  popular  demand  for 
music  the  Hawaiian  Hoard  has  published  various  Sun- 
day-school hymn  books;  in  1881  translations  of  180  of 
the  Moody  and  Sankey  Gospel  Hymns.  The  Hawaiian 
churches  have  been  fortunate  in  having  with  them  for 
over  half  a century  Rev.  L.  Lyons  (died  in  1886),  who 
made  it  a rule  to  translate  a new  hymn  every  week. 
The  Hawaiian  .Sunday-School  Association  in  1882  raised 
$1,000  towards  paying  the  cost  of  publishing  a new 
Sunday-school  hymn  book.  The  Hoku  Ao  A^ani  {Bright 
.\/or?ting  Star)  contains  about  300  hymns  and  tunes. 
Over  5,000  of  these  books  have  been  sold,  at  first 
at  seventy-five  cents  each,  latterly  at  fifty  cents.  They 
have  done  much  to  give  its  special  attractiveness  to  the 
.Sunday-school  work.  The  various  Sunday  schools  are 
organized  in  local  .Sunday-school  associations,  and  these 
send  delegates  to  the  general  Sunday-school  associa- 
tion, which  holds  its  annual  meeting  in  June,  one  feature 
of  which,  as  of  the  local  gatherings,  is  a Sunday-school 
exhibition.  The  last  Sunday  in  each  quarter  of  the  year 
is  devoted  to  these  exhibitions.  Various  classes  recite 
assigned  lessons  and  sing  hymns  of  their  own  selection. 
Quite  often  these  are  the  leader’s  original  composition, 
both  words  and  melody.  Four  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  sixteen  Sunday-school  scholars  are  reported.  A Sun- 
day-school manual  is  published  every  year,  containing 
lists  of  the  International  Sunday-school  lessons,  the  top- 


42 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


ics,  the  three  main  divisions,  the  leading  practical  appli- 
cation, and  the  Golden  Text,  supplemented  by  various 
chronological  tables  and  explanatory  indexes  of  per- 
sons and  places. 

The  hope  of  the  nation  and  the  church  is  in  the 
careful  training  of  the  young.  Of  late  years  the  in- 
fluences from  the  palace  have  been  deadly,  blighting  the 
growth  of  decency  and  morality,  piety  and  industry. 
True  friends  of  the  Hawaiians  have  seen  with  regret 
the  spread  of  these  pernicious  influences,  but  have  been 
powerless  to  check  or  repress  these  abominations  so 
intimately  connected  with  the  political  abuses  of  the 
Hawaiian  sovereignty.  The  recent  overthrow  of  that 
political  power  so  long  abased  for  the  degradation  of 
the  people  gives  new  hope  of  a brighter  future  and  stim- 
ulates to  more  general  and  energetic  endeavor. 

This  brief  sketch  of  the  progress  of  Christian  work 
in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  is  a record  full  .of  inspiration 
to  every  one  in  sympathy  with  the  Divine  Redeemer’s 
love  for  God’s  human  family  and  his  personal  love  for 
the  least  and  lowest  among  the  children  of  men.  It  is 
a story  of  struggle  and  achievement  far  more  than  of 
failure  and  disappointment.  This  glance  along  the  route 
of  God’s  advancing  host  rnay  well  cheer  every  humble 
and  patient  worker  to  larger  endeavor  and  more  persist- 
ent effort.  In  the  circles  for  prayer  and  in  the  petitions 
of  the  solitary  believer  let  there  be  frequent  and  special 
mention  of  the  Hawaiian  work,  whose  name  awakens 
a tender  chord  in  many  Christian  hearts  all  over  the 
world.  To  this  work  American  Christians  have  given 
freely  of  their  dear  ones,  as  well  as  of  their  garnered 
eains.  The  Hawaiians  were  first  of  all  in  this  era  of 

O 

missionary  enterprise  to  receive  the  institutions  of  the 
gospel  and  adopt  them  by  national  authority.  Largely 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


43 


because  of  this  they  have  been  recognized  among  th*. 
separate  sovereignties  of  Christendom.  That  separate 
sovereignty  seems  likely  now  to  be  absorbed,  not  lost, 
as  the  probable  result  of  recent  political  negotiations. 
But  the  loss  of  separate  sovereignty  of  jurisdiction  Is 
not  necessarily  the  loss  of  Hawaiian  nationality.  While 
in  the  empire  of  Great  Britain,  Scotch,  Irish,  Welsh,  and 
English  maintain  their  distinctive  national  characteris- 
tics, so  it  will  be  with  the  Hawaiian  people  should  these 
islands  come  to  constitute  a part  of  the  domain  of  the 
Great  Republic.  All  that  is  good  in  the  Hawaiian  race, 
and  that  therefore  may  properly  be  perpetuated,  will 
doubtless  have  continued  existence,  growth,  and  devel- 
opment. The  Canaanite  has  perished  forever  from  off 
the  face  of  the  earth,  not  the  victim  of  conquest  but 
of  his  own  iiiipurity,  impiety,  and  inhumanity.  But  the 
Hebrew  faith,  allying  itself  to  the  ever  living  God  and 
his  law,  is  for  all  time.  Other  Polynesian  races  have 
entirely  disappeared  in  the  few  years  since  their  exist- 
ence was  first  made  known  to  the  world  at  large.  The 
early  and  general  acceptance  of  Christianity  by  the  Ha- 
waiian people  has  given  them  a lease  of  life  far  beyond 
what  could  have  been  assured  to  them  simply  by  their 
own  inherent  vigor  or  vitality.  Their  future  now  de- 
pends upon  the  choice  they  may  make  in  regard  to  seek- 
ing in  all  its  fullness  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  right- 
eousness. A new  baptism  of  the  .Spirit,  as  general  a 
turning  to  the  Lord  as  marked  the  great  religious  move- 
ment of  1837-1840,  will  give  new  honor  and  new  hopes 
to  the  Hawaiian  people,  wasted,  weak,  and  wayward  as 
they  may  seem  to  some  harsh  critics ; lovable  and  at- 
tractive as  they  are  and  ever  will  be  to  those  who  know 
them  best  and  have  done  the  most  for  them. 


APPENDIX. 


January,  1900. 

This  narrative  is  resumed  seven  years  after  the  sec- 
ond part  was  written,  and  is  brought  down  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  year  1900.  During  this  interval,  death  has 
claimed  both  the  honored  brethren  who  wrote  the  pre- 
ceding pages.  Dr.  Hyde  wrought  on  under  failing 
strength,  but  with  unfailing  zeal  and  devotion,  to  the 
very  end.  His  death,  October  13,  1899,  closed  a period 
of  twenty-two  years  of  most  varied  and  effective  mission- 
ary service.  He  identified  himself  in  a rare  degree  with 
the  Christian  community  in  the  islands,  lent  himself 
without  stint  to  duties  of  all  kinds,  missionary,  educa- 
tional, and  charitable,  and  everywhere  was  felt  as  a 
strong  and  wise  counsellor  and  associate.  His  memorial 
is  in  the  churches,  and  schools,  and  social  order  he  did 
so  much  to  build  and  reinforce. 

The  islands  have  entered  on  a distinctly  new  era  in 
their  fortunes.  The  monarchy  passed  away,  borne  down 
by  its  own  weakness  and  defects,  and  the  government, 
which  succeeded  at  once,  rallied  to  itself  the  support  of 
the  most  intelligent  natives,  as  well  as  of  the  great  body 
of  foreign  born  inhabitants,  and  has  maintained  peace  and 
liberty,  order  and  prosperity  beyond  any  record  of  recent 
times  in  the  islands.  The  annexation  of  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  by  the  United  States,  in  July,  1898,  was  the  nat- 
ural result  of  the  situation,  as  well  as  the  realization  of  a 
long  cherished  desire  on  the  part  of  the  great  body  of 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


45 


men  of  wealth  and  influence  in  the  islands.  Coming  in 
the  midst  of  the  war  with  Spain,  which  later  resulted 
in  the  annexation  of  Porto  Rico,  the  expulsion  of  the 
Spanish  government  from  Cuba,  and  the  transfer  of  her 
sovereignty  in  the  Philippines  to  the  United  States,  it 
proved  to  be  the  beginning  of  a new  era,  the  inaugura- 
tion of  wider  relations  between  the  great  Republic  and 
the  nations  of  the  world. 

The  religious  life  and  activities  of  the  islands  have 
felt  only  a beneficial  influence  from  these  political  events, 
with  no  radical  change  in  form  or  direction.  At  Dr. 
Hyde’s  earnest  request,  in  1894,  Rev.  John  Leadingham 
was  appointed  by  the  American  Board  to  assist  in  the 
management  and  instruction  of  the  North  Pacific  Mis- 
sionary Institute,  and  has  rendered  excellent  and  increas- 
ingly valuable  service.  The  importance  of  this  training 
school  increases  from  year  to  year,  Chinese  and  Portu- 
guese pupils  have  been  added  to  the  Hawaiians,  and  a 
hopeful  effort  is  now  in  progress  to  provide  in  the  islands 
an  endowment  of  5150,000  for  the  more  adequate  support 
of  the  Institute.  The  number  of  Japanese  laborers  has 
already  reached  forty  thousand,  and  is  steadily  increasing. 
Rev.  and  Mrs.  O.  H.  Gulick,  born  in  the  islands  and  for 
many  years  members  of  the  Board’s  mission  in  Japan,  are 
nowin  charge  of  Christian  work  among  the  Japanese  in 
the  islands,  and  find  their  duties  so  many  that  they  are 
asking  for  another  missionary  family  to  share  it  with 
them.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frank  W.  Damon  devote  them- 
selves with  great  earnestness  and  wisdom  to  the  super- 
vision of  Christian  work  among  the  twenty  thousand 
Chinese  resident  in  the  islands.  The  religious  need  of 
the  large  contingent  of  Portuguese  residents  is  faithfully 
looked  after  by  well  trained  preachers  of  the  same  nation- 


46 


HAWAIIAN  MISSION. 


ality.  The  islands  seem  to  be  the  meeting  point  of  many 
peoples,  and  offer  rare  opportunities  for  a wide-reaching 
evangelism.  They  lie  on  the  lines  of  travel  between 
British  Columbia  and  Australia,  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Far  East,  and  their  fortunes,  now  wrapped 
up  with  those  of  the  United  States,  have  a bearing  on 
some  of  the  most  vital  questions  of  the  times.  It  was  a 
step  with  long  and  vast  consequences  in  human  history 
when  the  “Thaddeus,”  one  October  day  in  1819,  sailed 
from  Boston,  with  Hiram  Bingham  and  Asa  Thurston, 
and  their  companions,  to  plant  the  gospel  amid  the  idola- 
trous and  degraded  people  of  Hawaii. 


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GAYLORD 

PRINTED  IN  U.S.A. 

